A Paradigm Shift in Infectious Diseases

Professor Lydia Bourouiba, faculty in Civil and Environmental Engineering,  Mechanical Engineering, and the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, collaborates with Argha Manna, a cancer researcher turned comics artist from Kolkata, India. They continue their previous work translating the complex science of fluid dynamics of disease transmission into comics. Their joint project, Be Aware of Droplets and Bubbles, was published in Annals of Internal Medicine and featured in JAMA Networks’ “Graphic Medicine—The Best of 2020.” 

As an extension of their ongoing collaboration, A Paradigm Shift in Infectious Diseases aims to clarify confusion about the mechanisms of transmission of airborne pathogens, and more broadly, the importance of crossing boundaries between fundamental physical processes, biology, and physiology, and how the scientific method coupled with advancement of scientific instrumentation has shaped paradigm shifts in science. They leverage visual storytelling using comics to communicate these entangled concepts vital to the public understanding of the advancement of the frontier of human knowledge.

Lydia Bourouiba founded and directs The Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory at MIT. Her research interests and activities span a broad range of applied mathematics/mathematical physics approaches at the intersection of physics, mathematics, and biology. She leverages curiosity-driven research in fluid dynamics at various scales, biophysics, and mathematical modeling to understand the fundamental physical mechanisms shaping and constraining disease transmission dynamics in human, animal, and plant populations. Recently, her work elucidated the multi-scale dynamics of fluid fragmentation, droplet and bubble dynamics, and complex and multiphase flows with particular focus on the physics and biology that drive mixing, transport, persistence, and adaption of pathogens relevant to contamination and disease outbreaks.

Website: lbourouiba.mit.edu/contact

Argha Manna is a cancer researcher turned comics artist from India. He explores the historical perspectives of scientific development and social issues through the dual lenses of artist and researcher, bridging the gap between academic research and visual storytelling. Working alongside MIT Professor Lydia Bourouiba, Manna is working on translating the complex fluid dynamics of disease transmission and its historical context into comics.The collaboration, which included teaching tools to inform the public about infectious disease transmission, was published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Website: drawinghistoryofscience.wordpress.com